Prep playoff roundup: St. Ignatius, Valley Christian, Leigh baseball, St. Francis, Willow Glen softball advance

Prep playoff roundup: St. Ignatius, Valley Christian, Leigh baseball, St. Francis, Willow Glen softball advance

CENTRAL COAST SECTION PLAYOFFS

Baseball

Division I

No. 7 St. Ignatius 2, No. 2 Serra 0

Will Siwinski and Archer Horn combined on a three-hitter as the underdog Wildcats surprised Serra in the CCS quarterfinals. The senior left-hander won for the ninth time in 10 decisions this season, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out six while working the first six innings. Horn took over in the seventh and was dominant, striking out the side. The sophomore did allow one hit while recording his fourth save. Horn also drove in the only run SI would need, plating Rocco Giometti to make it 1-0 in the third. The Wildcats added an insurance run in the sixth on a hit by DJ Delaney that scored Dominic Camarillo. SI (19-9) moves on to the semifinals, where it will play Carmel on Wednesday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose. Carmel was also an upset winner on Saturday, beating Los Gatos 7-3. Serra (22-7) got hits from Jake Downing, Joey Damelio and Ian Armstrong. The Wildcats outhit the Padres 10-3.

No. 6 Carmel 7, No. 3 Los Gatos 3

The visitors scored all seven runs in the fourth inning. Matt Maxon and four-star football recruit Jackson Lloyd belted home runs to lead the uprising. Lloyd’s home was a solo shot. Maxon had two hits and three RBI for the 23-5 Padres. Lloyd is a highly regarded offensive lineman who measures 6-foot-7, 290 pounds. Los Gatos made an attempt to get back in the game with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth. Rowen Smith had two hits for Los Gatos (23-5). 

No. 1 Valley Christian 7, No. 8 St. Francis 0

The Warriors scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth. It was a game dominated by Quinten and Tatum Marsh, both headed to Stanford. At the plate, they were a combined 4-for-4 with four runs scored. On the mound, Quinten was untouchable, firing a four-hit shutout and striking out 10. He did not issue a single walk. Jordan Ortiz doubled and scored twice for the Warriors, who improved to 27-4. St. Francis, which slipped to 13-14-1, had two hits from Luke Devine.

No. 5 Archbishop Mitty 12, No. 4 Burlingame 1

The higher-seeded Panthers scored a run in the first to briefly go in front, but the Monarchs (17-12-1) stormed back with 11 runs over the last four innings. Most of the damage was done in a five-run fourth and four-run sixth. Waylon Walsh led the onslaught, going 3-for-3 with a double and six RBI. Tanner Kern had two hits including his second home run of the season. He scored two runs and drove in three. Grayson Munoz had three hits and Ethan Chase was 2-for-4 with three runs. All this came in support of Luka Pintar, who improved to 7-3 on the season. He went the distance, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out four. The only run to cross against him was unearned. Mitty’s next challenge will be mighty Valley Christian on Wednesday at Excite Ballpark. Valley beat Mitty twice during the regular season, but both games were close and low-scoring. Eric Gee scored the run for Burlingame, which is 18-6. 

Division II

No. 1 Leigh 5, No. 8 Menlo-Atherton 3

Junior Justin Jeong hammered his first homer of the season to lead the Longhorns. The home team led 5-2 after three innings but was unable to put the Bears away. Leigh will take an 18-9 record into the semifinals against Westmont on Wednesday. Menlo-Atherton is 12-12. In addition to Jeong’s hitting heroics, Ollie Obenour went 2-for-4, scored a run, drove in a run and pitched the final two innings for a save. Marcus Glanville was the winning pitcher. M-A had nine hits, two apiece by Rowan Kelly, Ryder Kelly and Jack Molise.

Softball

Open Division

No. 1 St. Francis 11, No. 8 Carlmont 1 (5 innings)

The top-seeded Lancers broke open a 4-1 game with four ruins in the bottom of the third to run their record to 26-0. St. Francis needed only six hits on the way to 11 runs, with Hayden Hummel and Ava Bulanti each hitting safely twice. One of Hummel’s hits was her ninth homer of the season. Rebecca Quinn and Jamie Oakland each drove in three runs. Quinn leads the Lancers with 34 RBI. Shannon Keighran pitched a five-inning complete game, pushing her record to 13-0. The future Boise State Bronco allowed one hit, and the only run against her was unearned. Carlmont finishes the season at 12-10-1. Kathrine Fung had Carlmont’s only hit and Claire Kettwig scored the Scots’ run. Next up for the Lancers is a home game against Willow Glen in the semifinals. No date or time has been announced.

No. 5 Willow Glen 3, No. 4 Hillsdale 1

The visiting Rams scored three runs in the top of the second, then let sophomore Alanna Clincy work her magic. The right-hander allowed a run in the third but was mostly untouchable, giving up two hits, walking one and striking out seven. Last season’s BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division Pitcher of the Year improved her record to 14-5, lowered her ERA to 1.01 and increased her strikeout total to 182 in 111 innings. At the plate Clincy singled and drove in a run. She maintains a .469 batting average and leads the Rams (21-6) with 32 RBI. Katelynn Dilbeck and Anaya Zambrano also drove in runs for Willow Glen. Sophia Shelton and Liana Mack had Hillsdale’s hits. Shelton scored for Hillsdale, which finished 23-5.  

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No. 3 Archbishop Mitty 4, No. 6 Los Gatos 0

The Monarchs scored single runs in the first and second innings, then added two more in the fourth. Sophomore Kyleigh Mace pitched the shutout, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out seven. She’s 19-3 with a 1.25 ERA for the season. Keira Brady, who is headed to UC-Davis after graduation, plated her team-leading 29th RBI for Mitty. Olivia Anderson and Cara Edwards also drove in runs. Mia Rodriguez, Sara Pina and Lindsay Miller each had two hits for Mitty (22-3). Juniors Addie Sorto, Ria Sharma and Annika Norquist had the three hits for Los Gatos. Freshman Ava Norquist pitched a complete game for the Wildcats. Los Gatos was 19-7 for the season. 

Division I

No. 1 The King’s Academy 4, No. 8 Notre Dame-Salinas 0

Sophomore southpaw Katia Nesper ran her season record to 16-0 with a four-hit shutout in the opening round of CCS. Nesper walked one and struck out 12, giving her 191 strikeouts in 91 innings pitched, according to the stats on MaxPreps. She was pretty good with the bat as well on Saturday, getting two hits and driving in a run. The other hitting star for TKA (21-3) was Mia Bennette. Also a sophomore, she drove in two runs, scored twice and drilled her fifth homer. Bennette has 19 extra base hits. 

No. 7 Branham 13, No. 2 Gunn 2

The Bruins scored in every inning of the five-inning contest. Gunn led 2-1 after the first, but Branham (19-9) scored a crooked number in every inning after that. Ella Moser was 2-for-2 and drove in four runs. Alexis Bojoquez-nava had a three-hit game that included a pair of doubles. She also scored three runs. Gunn, which lost for only the second time in 25 games, got a triple from Lauryn Selvaraj.

NORTH COAST SECTION

Baseball

Division II

No. 4 Benicia 4, No. 5 Vintage 3

The Panthers (18-8) erased a 3-1 deficit with a three-run third inning. The pitchers took over after that. Winning pitcher Cormac O’Connell worked the first 5⅔ innings for the home team. He gave up three runs but none were earned. Benicia managed to win the game despite four errors. Jacob George worked the final 1⅓ innings for the save, retiring all four batters he faced. Wyatt Miyamoto was one of two hitting stars for Benicia, belting two doubles, scoring a run and driving in a run. Jaden Mason had two hits and two RBI. Benicia will be on the road Tuesday at Cardinal Newman in the D-II semifinals. First pitch is at 5 p.m.

No. 3 Ukiah 3, No. 6 Livermore 1

The home team scored three runs in the first inning. Livermore outhit Ukiah 6-5, but managed to score its only run in the seventh. Andrew Arante drove in the run with one of his two hits.